Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1227 A New Approach
Kournikova looked at the dilapidated house, then at the brother and sister, both of whom looked rather thin and pale.

Kournikova said, "I need to rent a place, probably until the day of the tournament. I still have some money, so I'll leave it for you if you need it."

As he spoke, he took out fifty taels of silver from his pocket and placed it next to the girl.

Seeing that Kournikova was about to leave, the little mute boy grabbed her and stared at her with his bright eyes.

The woman realized that Kournikova meant no harm and was simply pitying her brother.

Kournikova said, "My parents left when I was young, and I was already making a living on my own when I was even younger than him. But I'm better off than you guys; I don't have any enemies."

The siblings were taken aback and looked at Kournikova. Kournikova continued, "To tell you the truth, I will definitely follow the path your parents took. I am just a passerby here."

The older sister spoke up, looking at her younger brother, and said, "We want to go with you, is that alright?"

Kournikova looked at the poor siblings, and her pity resurfaced; after all, he was only twelve years old.

Kournikova agreed, saying, "To avoid trouble, I'll rent a place first, and you can stay here too. We'll see how to get to that teleportation portal then."

The little mute boy nodded vigorously. His older sister looked at her brother, sighed, and realized that this was the only way.

Kournikova looked at the woman and said, "I'm very rich, don't worry about saving money for me. If you follow me all the way, this money probably won't even amount to anything in the end."

The siblings were completely confused, and Kournikova didn't bother to explain.

Kournikova left. If he wanted to move up the ranks, he would need connections, but apart from the Martial Arts Academy, he had never heard of ordinary people being able to ascend to the next level. Even passing by was not allowed; the rules here were extremely strict.

Kournikova rented a house on the side near the main road, a simple three-room brick house, but it had the most basic living necessities and furniture.

The siblings also moved here. The place they lived in was an abandoned house, while the conditions here in Kournikova's place are better.

At this point, Kova also learned about the siblings' family background. The older sister was named Ouyang Yin, and the younger brother was named Ouyang Lü, because their mother was particularly fond of music.

Ouyang Lu was very attached to Kova, and had the mindset of being her little brother. He followed Kova around every day. Kova also asked him to find out some things. Of course, Kova also gave him some spare change to bribe people who knew information.

Ouyang Yin also took on the heavy responsibility of the family, managing the housework in an orderly manner. After the two siblings washed up and changed into new clothes, Kuva felt that the head of the family had made the right choice. The older sister was really as beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water. Seeing her, one felt that she was someone who did not belong to this world.

Of course not. Kournikova cooked the first meal, and she ate the most. After the meal, Kournikova stated that she only cooks when she feels like it, and she doesn't usually cook.

As usual, Ouyang Lu tugged at his sleeve, looking at him pitifully, but Kova shook her head firmly.

"I'm busy with important things, I don't have time to cook," Kournikova said firmly.

During her time in Tianfan City, Kova met many beggars, all because of the little mute boy, who knew mostly beggars, and Kova had no choice but to accept it.

But one day, the little mute boy mysteriously led Kournikova to a dilapidated temple, where there was an old beggar. Kournikova could tell that the man was on his last legs.

The little mute boy pointed at the old man and kept saying, "Aba, Aba."

Kournikova walked over and looked down at the old man lying on the ground. The old man opened his eyes, looked at Kournikova, and stared at her for a long time.

The old man said, "The little mute said you wanted to go through the teleportation portal?"

Kournikova nodded and said, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

“I don’t ask for much. Just give me a proper burial, pay your respects on behalf of my descendants, and I’ll escort you to the passage and see you off,” the old man said in a low voice. Kova was astonished, looking at the old man with a disbelieving expression.

The old man forced a smile and said, "I was originally the one who guarded the passageway, but I made a mistake and was stripped of my dantian and expelled from the palace."

"Are you a guardian?" Kournikova asked in surprise.

The old man was also taken aback and said, "You know about guardians? It seems you know more than I do. I am not a guardian, but a high-ranking guard of the royal court, in charge of the teleportation channel."

Kournikova glanced at the old man, scanned him with her divine sense, and immediately realized that the old man's dantian had indeed been destroyed.

The old man said, “My name is Gu Yan. I am from the State of Wei. However, I come from a family of martial arts practitioners. I have practiced martial arts since I was a child and have risen to the position of a high-ranking guard in the Imperial Court. But as I learned more and more about the teleportation channels, I became greedy. I took advantage of my position to dig a channel leading to my home, thinking that one day I would take my family with me to leave this world and pursue a longer lifespan.”

Kova nodded. It was indeed true. Kova knew this continent well. There were very few people here who lived past 100 years old, but on the Divine Martial Continent, people lived to be around 200 years old.

The old man continued, "I'll tell you about the secret passage, how about you clean up the mess for me?"

Kournikova figured she wouldn't lose anything anyway, so she nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Kournikova prepared a sumptuous dinner. The little mute boy just kept his head down and ate voraciously, while the old man ate very little, not because he didn't want to eat, but because he had reached the point where he couldn't eat anymore.

After finishing his meal, the old man wiped his mouth, looked at Kournikova, smiled, and said, "In consideration of your kindness in providing this meal, I'll tell you a secret. This is the Guardian's secret."

“You can’t teleport yourself; you need a Qiankun Shift Token. It’s a magical artifact engraved with an array, issued to the guardians of the twenty-ninth level of the highest realm. Without this token, you can’t leave even if you enter the passage,” the old man said.

Kournikova was shocked and felt a wave of disappointment; it seemed like fate had turned against her.

The old man squinted and said, "Don't rush, I happen to have one. I stole it from the last guardian, who was a Foundation Establishment stage expert. How about that, am I amazing?"

Kournikova looked at the old man, while the little mute boy stood obediently beside her, listening to the old man recount his past.

The old man refused to reveal his name, only saying that he was the first replacement the Guardian had found, because the Guardian couldn't leave without a replacement. Therefore, the Guardian trusted the old man and told him that this world was a world of layers upon layers, and the highest power core, who was also the rule-maker of this world, was in the Heavenly Palace on the 29th Heaven. No one knew who it was.

The world has eighteen underground levels, three above ground, and thirty-three in the sky. Each level has a ruler and a guardian. They do not interfere with each other; the guardian merely guards the teleportation channels, while the ruler is the actual controller of that level.

The old man learned a lot from the guardian, but unfortunately the guardian was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he wanted to continue cultivating, he had to return to the First Heaven. However, he was bound by a contract and had to stay in the mortal realm. Therefore, the guardian taught the old man the Five Elements Technique, which is the basic technique for cultivators of the Thirty-Three Heavens.

It's a pity that the old man followed the guardian from the age of eighteen and practiced for thirty years, but he still couldn't get the basics right. The guardian's final conclusion was that either there was no spiritual energy here to cultivate, or the old man's aptitude was simply too poor, so the guardian gave up on him.

But the old man was unwilling to give up, thinking that if he could reach the first level of heaven, he might be able to cultivate.

So, after careful planning, the old man stole the Qiankun Shifting Token right under the guardian's nose.

The old man knew far too little about cultivators. Before he even left the palace, he was caught up by the guardian. The old man ran for his life, but the guardian floated in the air and casually struck him with a palm. The old man was sent flying, his internal organs felt as if they were shattered, and he fell off the cliff.

The guardian floated in the air searching, flying directly to the bottom of the cliff, but still couldn't find the old man. The guardian was unwilling to give up, so he took out his sword and slashed wildly, breaking down the cliff face. A mountain collapsed and crashed into the bottom of the cliff, burying the entire valley.

The old man was lucky; he fell directly into a stream and was already unconscious. When he woke up, he was already outside Tianfan City.

The old man had survived a great ordeal, but he was nearing the end of his life. He wanted to be laid to rest, as he was just an ordinary person and deserved a good end. He didn't forget there were eighteen levels underground, so he hoped for a grand funeral.

But he was penniless and paralyzed, so he searched everywhere for little beggars, hoping that no kind person could help him.

(End of this chapter)